Ester Hewitt got what she thinks might be the best gifts this holiday season: a 15-year burden lifted from her shoulders and the chance for a fresh start.

On Friday afternoon, Hewitt, 37, found out that Gov. Rick Perry granted her clemency for a criminal conviction she received in 1997 for hindering apprehension. The governor's office announced Friday that Hewitt and 13 others were granted full pardons by Perry.

"This has just been something that has been following me for many years," said Hewitt, who lives in south Houston. She didn't know she'd received the pardon until she spoke with the Houston Chronicle. "This is the most amazing Christmas present ever."

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles could not be reached for comment Friday.

A single mother of two, Hewitt can still recall the events that led to her conviction. She said she was 22 when police officers came knocking on the door of her Galveston County home looking for her roommate.

Scared and confused, Hewitt told police they could not enter her house without a warrant, she said. Her daughter, 1 at the time, was asleep in another room and she did not want her to wake up to the chaos.

The police stormed the house anyway and Hewitt said she quickly grabbed her daughter and ran outside.

Before she knew it, she was sitting in jail for over a month, charged with hindering apprehension. She was convicted after pleading no contest to the crime and offered time-served in the county jail as her punishment.

For the last 15 years, Hewitt has been doing the best she can for her daughter, now 16, and her 12-year-old son. But with the criminal conviction on her record, finding a job that offers good pay has been difficult. She works three jobs, that includes a night shift, to support her family.

The conviction has also meant she could not become a nurse - her lifelong dream. A year ago, Hewitt enrolled in a nursing program at San Jacinto College. However, she's not been able take many of the advanced classes because the college doesn't allow those with criminal convictions to take the courses.

Speaking to lawyers over the years, she learned she had little chance of having her record expunged.

"This pardon was my only hope," said Hewitt, who applied for clemency in October 2011.

Along with Hewitt, three others from the Houston area were also granted full pardons: Mary Lee Cloud, 50, who was convicted of carrying a weapon in 1989; 38-year-old Glenn Sabastian Lyon, convicted of criminal mischief in 1995; and 45-year-old Matthew Tristan, of Humble, who was convicted of assault in 1985.

Hewitt is ecstatic about the news of her pardon. She feels like she can get a better job and make more money to save up to send her children to college.

"I just feel a huge sense of relief," Hewitt said. "I feel so liberated to be able to live my life."